When mind over matter meets work ethic

Dear friends, partners, and supporters of the PLL, 

The time between Christmas and the New Year is a special one. It’s a week that gives us a chance to spend time with loved ones, reflect on the prior year, give thanks to so many who have been there for us, and plan for the ensuing trip around the sun.

Starting in order, I had a lovely time over Christmas with my girlfriend’s family in London – meeting cousins and friends while celebrating our collective journeys in 2023. When I reflect on the totality of family time this year, I think about the annual NYC trip with my Mom, getting to work with my Dad twice a year at Rabil Overnight – once in the east and once in the west – I think about my trips back to Washington DC to hang with my sister, and of course, the daily grind turned into game weekends with my brother, best friend and business partner, Mike.

We’re continuously investing and building a culture at the PLL where our colleagues build personal relationships among their professional ones. No better example than our annual offsite that’s hosted in wine country (shoutout PLL partner, Steph Gallo for the setup) where we unite our teams for interpersonal exercises, lessons on communication, and workshops that are designed to solve existing problems. Personally, I think the best work is done when two or more people share a trust and friendship. When there is camaraderie around a common goal, there are better outcomes. Ask any championship team. I’m grateful that many of the people that I get the pleasure to work with, I also get to consider a friend. 

With those hard-working relationships, the PLL continues to build something we feel very proud of – despite still only being in the first quarter. 

In 2023, we began with our first-ever Olympic-format Tournament where Romar Dennis won the Golden Stick Award with a lights-out 2-point shooting performance. Clutch goaltending by Sean Sconone led the Chrome Lacrosse Club to the inaugural Championship Series title in February. And we can't wait to run it back this year.

In March, Japan’s World Crosse organization hosted a PLL men’s and women’s All-Star team for an electric set of exhibition games in front of a sellout Japanese audience. This was my first time and the PLL’s second time working with World Crosse, and we look forward to expanding our international footprint in 2024 and beyond.

One of many PLL records were shattered during our regular season opening fixture between Atlas Lacrosse Club and the Redwoods Lacrosse Club – starting with 782,000 peak viewers on ABC. I can remember trekking Wall Street with Mike and our 10-page deck pitching to potential investors why we felt pro lacrosse was the only sport that was equally undervalued, under-resourced, with ground-breaking upside and the backdrop of growing global participation. The most common question we would get?

What are the existing viewership numbers?

That was a difficult question to answer…as pro lacrosse had never scored a rating. In 2024, we want to push harder and further towards that once considered untouchable gold standard of 1 million viewers in a game.

A favorite of mine – this past July, Jarrod Neumann set an on-field record of his own, banging home a 121 mph show at halftime of our All-Star Game in Louisville, KY. As someone who used to hold that title (back in the Cascade Pro7 days), I know the athleticism, skill, and work that goes into becoming the fastest shooter on the planet. Jarrod’s been that for years now – and perhaps like that untouchable viewership number above, I never would’ve thought a player would hit 121 mph in this lifetime. That is until mind exceeds matter and is introduced to work ethic. 

During our Baltimore weekend at historic Homewood Field, and for the first time in League history, U11 and U13 players competed in the PLL Junior Championships. George Caldroney did his best Michael Sowers impression for the Junior Waterdogs, shaking defenders with a between-the-legs crossover dodge, leading them to the inaugural Championship win. Baltimore also played host to our second PLL Hall of Fame Class, where two former teammates of mine were inducted – Lizards teammate and formidable 7x MLL Champion, Brian Spallina, as well as my Boston Cannons mate and man who could paint the art of an assist better than most, now an ESPN color analyst for each of you watching from home, Ryan Boyle.

Our fifth season came to an end when the Archers Lacrosse Club hoisted the Cash App Championship Trophy for the first time thanks to MVP Tom Schreiber’s game-winning goal in the final moments. It was an absolute thriller in the rain. Impossible not to mention Brett Dobson’s impressive 17 saves as a second year starting goalie. Very rarely does a team stand the test of time from the beginning of the season to the end. The Archers were best, point-blank.

As we entered our offseason, we almost immediately pointed our efforts towards the final Olympics push we had been working on for the greater part of the last five years – and on October 16th, at an IOC session in India, a final vote confirmed that lacrosse would be BACK in the Olympics for the Summer Games in Los Angeles, this 2028. A monumental feat for the game. Once an Olympic Sport in 1904, for many reasons, lacrosse fell off. It’s taken both unification, partnership, organizing, and people to get this done – a process that began 20 years ago.

This November, live on SportsCenter, the PLL took our next giant step into the professional sports zeitgeist by announcing that our eight clubs would be assigned to eight home markets. A material shift in the way our teams, players and coaches associate themselves with sports communities, igniting a new and familiar fire to compete for your city, and providing sports fans around the world with universal language for interpretation of a traditional team sport. It’s Boston and New York. Philadelphia versus Maryland. Top 10 Plays from the SportsCenter desk calling out now legends in new markets. We’re chalk full of exciting ideas for the new year.

And that, brings me to the final piece – planning for the new year. I’ll tie this section back to our company offsite where I discussed both my personal and professional goals. Here are a few:

            Become a better leader – how I show up for myself, my teams and across the company

            Read more

            Respond with greater velocity

            Work on a public relations strategy to bring sanctioned high school lacrosse to more states (there are currently only 24 registered)

            Continue to provide support to the women’s professional game through our Unleashed media and events business

            Get out on the field at Lake Placid to feed Kevin Leveille on the crease

            Help TLN achieve 1 million followers on Instagram

            Generate new and authentic partnerships in available business categories

Drink more water (with lemons every morning)

Don’t stop shooting

            Facilitate another Japan tour alongside a new international market

            Enrich our community connection inside of each team’s new home

            Secure a new original lacrosse show or series with a major network

            Help set records for viewership, audience growth, corporate partnership volume, ticket sales, merchandise, and youth events

In October I announced that I had been writing a book with Ryan Holiday. We began after my retirement from professional and international lacrosse. When Ryan introduced the idea to me, I first had major imposter syndrome. After all, I regularly registered my worst letter grade in writing class growing up. But just like sports where we often share a familiar element of doubt, a champion takes the challenge.

On my journey I’ve won and lost championships, business deals and relationships. I’ve set ambitious goals and come up short. Over and over. Yet I’ve learned that success is built on a foundation of failures, only when you choose to rise with unwavering resolve.

Paired with lessons from the greatest athletes and leaders in the world, I decided to write this book to serve as a guide for anyone who wants to overcome obstacles, develop resilience, and cultivate the mindset of a champion.

This, I will leave you with, will be part of my planning in 2024 – as the book arrives on stands this May 7th. And you can preorder here.

Once again and most importantly, thank YOU for being such a great friend and supporter of our largest mission – trailblazing the future of professional lacrosse. There’s much work ahead, and we’ve got a big and growing team to get to those once untouchable moments.

Here's to 2024,

Paul